Siege of Tsingtao

The Siege of Tsingtao occurred from 27 August to 7 November 1914 when the Entente powers - namely Japan and Britain - launched a combined land and naval siege of the German port city of Qingdao (Tsingtao) in China at the start of World War I. The fall of Tsingtao marked the only major land battle in the Asia-Pacific theatre of the war.

Background
Before World War I, China and the Pacific were areas in which the imperialist ambitions of the European powers, the United States, and Japan clashed. From the mid-19th century, the Chinese state was riven by political factionalism. Taking advantage of this, the foreign powers obtained "concessions" in China - territory over which they exercised effective control. This process was accelerated by joint foreign military intervention in China in 1900, in response to the Boxer Rebellion against Western imperialism. A revolution in 1911 led to the end of Qing imperial rule and the founding of a highly unstable republic.

Japan had emerged as an aggressive regional power in the late 19th century. Its military victories over China in 1894-95 and Russia in 1904-05 whetted its ambitions to become a world power. In 1902, Japan signed an alliance with Britain, based at the time on mutual hostility toward Russia.

History
British concerns about German naval power were the factor that first brought East Asia into the war. The Imperial German Navy's East Asian Squadron was based at Tsingtao (now Qingdao) on China's Shandong peninsula, a German-ruled concession. Worried about the threat this posed to its merchant shipping, Britain looked to its Japanese ally for support. Japan was an expansionist power engaged in long-term empire-building and only too ready for a chance to extend its influence in China and the Pacific. By the time Japan declared war on Germany on 23 August, it was already planning a seaborne expedition to capture Tsingtao. Britain assembled a token force of 1,500 soldiers from its concession at Tientsin (now Tianjin) to join the Japanese force. However, the German East Asia Squadron had decided not to defend Tsingtao and embarked on a far-flung naval campaign in the South Atlantic. The Japanese first landed at Lungkow Bay, 80 miles north of Tsingtao, where they set up a supply base. Their main landing followed at Laoshan Bay, 18 miles east of the port, on 18 September. These landings on Chinese territory violated Chinese neutrality, but foreign powers were too accustomed to trampling over China for this to worry them.

Tsingtao falls to the Allies
While Japanese warships blockaded Tsingtao, land forces made slow progress in adverse weather. It was 31 October before the port was fully under siege. The German defense of Tsingtao was led by its governor, Alfred Meyer-Waldeck. He had only 4,000 soldiers and marines at his disposal but had some powerful guns, originally intended to repel an attack by sea.

The Japanese bombarded the city for a week and then mounted an infantry assault that penetrated the German defenses. On 7 November, short of ammunition, Meyer-Waldeck asked for a ceasefire so that surrender terms could be negotiated. The Germans had lost about 500 men, compared to some 240 Japanese dead and a dozen British. The Germans who surrendered were held as prisoners in Japan until 1920.

Aftermath
Japan's objective was not so much as to contribute to the defeat of Germany as to develop its interests in China. In January 1951, Japan presented the Chinese government with the 21 Demands, chiefly designed to extend its influence in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. The Japanese also intended to keep hold of Tsingtao.